Adana Kebab

Adana kebab is protected by geographical indication, and the definition is specific: meat from male lambs under a year old, minced by hand with a zırh - a curved cleaver - rather than machine, mixed with tail fat and red pepper and nothing else, pressed by hand onto a wide flat skewer and grilled over charcoal. The result is coarse-textured and properly hot, which is the point; the milder version made without the chilli is called Urfa kebab and is a different dish. What comes with it matters as much: lavash to wrap it in, grilled tomato and long green pepper, a heap of raw onion dressed with sumac and parsley, and şalgam, the fermented purple turnip and black carrot juice, drunk alongside either mild or hot. Adana's kebab houses are plain, brightly lit and serious about it. Lunch is when they are at their best, and the city's other speciality, bici bici - shaved ice with rosewater and starch pudding - is the correct thing afterwards.

What you actually see

• The hand mincing - meat cut with the zırh cleaver.
• The flat skewers - kebab pressed and grilled over charcoal.
• The accompaniments - lavash, sumac onion, grilled peppers.
• The şalgam - fermented turnip juice served with it.

When to go

Year-round; lunch is the traditional meal and when the meat is freshest. Adana's summer heat makes the charcoal grills a challenge for everyone.

Honest expectations

It is genuinely spicy - ask for Urfa if you want it mild. Portions are large and rich with tail fat. Şalgam is an acquired taste and the hot version is very hot.

Nearby

The Roman stone bridge and the Sabancı mosque are in the centre; Tarsus is forty minutes west.